Description

MARIA GERHART, ALSO MARIE GERHART, MARRIED NAME MARIA GERHART-GSCHWANDTNER (VIENNA, 10 JULY, 1890 – VIENNA, 2 NOVEMBER, 1975)

 

 

 

 

She studied at the Vienna Conservatory under Irene Schlemmer-Ambros. She made her debut at the Vienna Volksoper in the 1917–18 season, then sang at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1920, at the Deutsches Theater in Prague from 1920 to 1922, and at the Frankfurt Opera from 1922 to 1923, where she later appeared frequently as a guest. In 1923, she was engaged by the Vienna State Opera, where she enjoyed great success until 1939.

In 1924, she appeared with the Vienna State Opera ensemble in Amsterdam, excelling as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos. From 1926 onward, she was celebrated at the Salzburg Festival, where she sang Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1926), Zerbinetta in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos (1926), and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte (1928). Above all, she triumphed in her most brilliant role, the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (1928, 1931–33). Guest engagements took her to London, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Milan, and Munich, as well as to the German Theatre in Brno (1927), the Stadttheater in Basel (1931), and the Rome Opera, where she sang Zerbinetta to great acclaim in 1935. She retired from the stage in 1939 at the Vienna State Opera as Gilda in Rigoletto.

Her stage repertoire included Lucia di Lammermoor, Norina in Don Pasquale, Leonora in Il trovatore, Violetta in La Traviata, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, Oscar in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, the title role in Flotow’s Martha, Marguerite de Valois in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, Madeleine in Adam’s Le postillon de Lonjumeau, Fiakermilli in Strauss’s Arabella, Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust, and Ighino in Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina.

A distinguished concert and oratorio singer, she was especially admired in the Mozart and cathedral concerts of the Salzburg Festival. From 1947, she held a professorship at the Vienna Academy of Music. She was married to the conductor Rudolf Geschwandtner.

Among the outstanding coloratura sopranos of her time, she was admired for the brilliance of her technique and the spontaneity of her vocal delivery. She left relatively rare acoustic Odeon recordings, including a duet with Hans Duhan from Le nozze di Figaro. In 1984, the Danish label Danacord issued an electronic transfer of her 1931 Radio Copenhagen broadcast of the Queen of the Night’s aria from Die Zauberflöte. Koch/Schwann later released archive recordings from the Vienna State Opera, including excerpts from Der Rosenkavalier in which she sang Sophie.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Abu Hassan (Weber) Hier liegt, welch’ martervolles Los 80204 xxB6919 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-17

Abu Hassan (Weber) Wird Pjilomene trauern 80203, xxB6918 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-17

Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss) Arie der Zerbinetta, pt 1, pt 2 80205, 80206, xxB6921 xxB6920-2 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-17

Ballo in maschera (Verdi) Laßt ab mit Fragen (Pagenarie) 80253 xxB7112-2 Odeon, Wien 1924-12-06

Don Giovanni (Mozart) Reich mir die Hand (w. Duhan) 80197 xxB6925 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-18

Il re pastore (Mozart) L’amerò, sarò costante 80208 xxB6923 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-17

Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Eines Tages sehen wir 80202 xxB6917 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-17

Nozze di Figaro (Mozart) Endlich naht sich die Stunde unpubl xxB7111 Odeon, Wien 1924-12-06

Nozze di Figaro (Mozart) So lang’ hab’ ich geschmachtet (w. Duhan) 80196 xxB6924 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-18

Rigoletto (Verdi) Gestern zur Abendstunde (w. Duhan) 80199 xxB6927 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-18

Rigoletto (Verdi) Teurer Name 80202 xxB6917 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-17

Trovatore (Verdi) Sieh’ meiner hellen Tränen Flut (w. Duhan) 80198 xxB6926 Odeon, Wien 1924-01-18

Variationen über ein Thema von Mozart (Adam) unpubl xxB7110-2 Odeon, Wien 1924-12-03